DC United, city agree on $300M soccer-only stadium; deal keeps team in Washington

WASHINGTON – DC United and city officials have signed an agreement that would keep the Major League Soccer franchise in the District of Columbia with a new, $300 million soccer-only stadium.

The city and the team would split the cost of the stadium, which is tentatively scheduled to open in 2016 in an industrial area of southwest Washington known as Buzzard Point.

DC United has played in aging RFK Stadium since MLS' launch in 1996. It had considered relocating to Maryland or Virginia.

The design for the stadium has not been finalized, but officials say it will seat 20,000 to 25,000 people. The city will pay $150 million to acquire land and improve infrastructure, raising money for the deal through land swaps. The team will spend $150 million to build the stadium.